I wanted to try Jeni Britton ice cream base but I don't want a quart of ice cream. Has anyone ever tried halving proportions?

Assya
  • Posted by: Assya
  • April 26, 2015
  • 1309 views
  • 6 Comments

6 Comments

Assya May 10, 2015
Hi all,

I finally got around to make a batch of ice cream.
I used the Splendid Lemon Cream Ice Cream also on Food52.

Halving the proportions went fine, I used the method ehbeesea recommended and calculated the percentage of each ingredient in grams against the cream. The machine worked fine, it stopped after 20 minutes and the consistency was dreamy.

However I had to substitute regular sugar with light brown sugar because it was the only thing I had on hand and I realized I was out of regular sugar only after I started the recipe.
And I made a mistake: I was supposed to use 20 grams of light corn syrup and while I was pouring straight in the pan I went up to 30 grams. Also I probably added too much corn starch, it was supposed to be 8 + 3 grams in the calculations but I think I added more (20 grams almost).
It still turned out good however, there is a cooked flour flavor I dislike. I assume it is because of the extra cornstarch or maybe a combination of the three mistakes I listed above. When I added the corn starch slurry, the mixture thickened even before I put it back on the stove and it had this cooked flour taste.
It is good enough in spite of this, I will try and be more careful next time :)

Thanks a lot to for your help, I really appreciate.
 
LeBec F. April 27, 2015
assya,
if your machine is truly a 'basic one' it is posssible that the directions don't mention alot of important things. So what Cav said is even more important . You should know if there's going to be a problem- right when you pour in your base into the mchine. If your eyes can see that the paddles won't work right with this little a mixture, then stop the machine and make the other half of the base and add it so your machine has a full batch of base.
 
Nancy April 26, 2015
aside from possible problems with a machine minimum volume, the ingredient list poses no problems for make half.
 
Assya April 26, 2015
It's true, but I'm a very novice cook and learned the hard way that some recipes call for specific amount and if the proportions are changed it doesn't work as well.
I will try halving everything though and see if it works.
 
Cav April 26, 2015
You should first consult your ice cream machine instructions. Many cannot operate without a minimum amount of ice cream base as the paddles will not be able to stir small amounts properly, leading to uneven churning.
 
Assya April 26, 2015
Thank you for answering!
My machine is a basic one and only yields a quart. There is no mention of a minimum amount so I think I'll give this a try.
 
Recommended by Food52